Rambutan - SFBA Book Club

Hardcover, 256 pages

English language

Published Oct. 11, 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

ISBN:: 978-1-5266-4657-6

(1 review)

Since Cynthia Shanmugalingam was a young girl, she has worked to piece together her sense of Sri Lanka, her ancestral homeland that she experienced through the wondrous flavors of her immigrant parents' kitchen in London. In Rambutan, these ingredients, methods, and tastes-combining Javanese, Malay, Indian, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British influences-come together to create an irresistible portrait of modern Sri Lankan cuisine.

In more than 80 recipes, Shanmugalingam takes her favorite parts of the island's culinary tradition and adapts them to be accessible and fun for the home cook: with dinners of sticky chicken buriani and crunchy fried potatoes with turmeric, desserts of mango fluff pie and milk toffee, and drinks of lemongrass lime soda and boozy tea cocktails, Rambutan is designed to deliver as much edible Sri Lankan joy as possible. Combining luscious recipe photography and stunning candids from the island, this exuberant guide is perfect for home cooks …

Since Cynthia Shanmugalingam was a young girl, she has worked to piece together her sense of Sri Lanka, her ancestral homeland that she experienced through the wondrous flavors of her immigrant parents' kitchen in London. In Rambutan, these ingredients, methods, and tastes-combining Javanese, Malay, Indian, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British influences-come together to create an irresistible portrait of modern Sri Lankan cuisine.

In more than 80 recipes, Shanmugalingam takes her favorite parts of the island's culinary tradition and adapts them to be accessible and fun for the home cook: with dinners of sticky chicken buriani and crunchy fried potatoes with turmeric, desserts of mango fluff pie and milk toffee, and drinks of lemongrass lime soda and boozy tea cocktails, Rambutan is designed to deliver as much edible Sri Lankan joy as possible. Combining luscious recipe photography and stunning candids from the island, this exuberant guide is perfect for home cooks looking to explore the exciting Sri Lankan tradition in South Asian cuisine.

1 edition

Divya Manian reviewed Rambutan by Cynthia Shanmugalingam

Stories more compelling than the recipes

3 stars

I was so looking forward to making some Sri Lankan food but sadly this book does not deliver on that end. For example, the author writes so beautifully of Neer mor which is a yoghurt based spicy drink that you consume in summer and then the recipe that follows is not for Neer mor but for a labneh like dish "similar" to Neer mor. I never knew what was for breakfast/lunch/dinner but also didn't know how these dishes were supposed to be eaten. They looked like plates you get at a 5 star restaurant and not like a filling meal.

Additionally, this book requires fresh grated coconut for almost all its recipes which makes sense but also I wasn't in the vicinity of a store with that which made it really hard to find a recipe to cook with. Oh well.